Adam Stagg to serve less than two years for date robbery

['Adam Stagg is accused of taking part in an armed robbery targeting a man who thought he was out on a regular date.']

HARBOUR GRACE, NL — Adam Stagg avoided a three-day trial Tuesday morning, July 11th, by admitting guilt to his role in a Carbonear armed robbery.

Stagg, 34, entered guilty pleas on three of his six counts, which were robbery, failure to comply with probation order, and conspiracy to commit an indictable offense. The Crown withdrew the remaining charges of extortion, possession of a weapon, and assault.

In November of 2016, Stagg pleaded not guilty to all six charges.

Stagg was arrested on August 30th, 2016, alongside Troy Dobbin, a 15-year-old male, and Jennine Porter, following a robbery on O’Driscoll’s Lane in Carbonear, in which the complainant was under the impression that he and Porter were on a date.

Porter was sentenced to just under two years incarceration on Thursday, June 29th after pleading guilty to a single-count charge of conspiracy to commit an indictable offence of robbery.

During the sentencing, Crown lawyer Paul Thistle read the agreed statement of facts regarding Stagg’s case. During the statement, Stagg could be seen occasionally shaking his head.

The facts stated by Thistle noted that Stagg initially opened the complainant’s car door while holding a knife. The knife, which was later found in the woods that Dobbin and Porter were also found in, was described as having a blade that was around eight to twelve inches in length.

The complainant proceeded to leave his car, giving Stagg an undisclosed amount of cash and marijuana. The car was driven away after the complainant fled to a nearby house’s backyard, where he called the police.

Following the agreed statement of facts, Stagg stated that there were some parts he disagreed with, however, following a conversation with his lawyer, Tim O’Brien, in another room, Stagg returned to say that he had no issues with the stated facts.

It was then asked if Stagg understood that he was believed to be the man described as holding the knife, to which Stagg said he understood.

Later in the afternoon, Stagg was sentenced to 990 days for the robbery charge, 60 for the breach of probation, and a concurrent 990 for the conspiracy charge.

Stagg had 474 days of remand credit, resulting in a total of 606 days to be served, along with a 10-year firearm prohibition and a $200 victim fine surcharge.

It was noted that though Stagg had a length criminal record, there was nothing on the same level as his current charges. It was concluded that rehabilitation was not a lost prospect for Stagg.